Sheeren Shekh’s simple yet effective idea inspires policy makers

Every year, around the month of March, member organizations of the Honey Bee Network (SRISTI, NIF and GIAN) conduct various activities in the Festival of Innovation(FOIN) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Once such activity is the ‘Children’s Workshop’ supported by UNICEF. In the last year’s workshop, several underprivileged children from multiple informal settlements in Delhi participated. One of the participants was a girl from SDMC Primary Pratibha Vidyalaya from Nizamuddin West.

She suggested that the following words to be written on lunchboxes of children by the manufacturers:

“Please wash hands before opening me”

Prof Anil K Gupta had mentioned this Idea to the Minister of Women and Child Development, Ms Maneka Gandhi. She recently wrote to the Urban Development Ministry that handles the Swachh Bharat Mission to implement this idea.
This policy impact vindicates our approach to involve children in finding solutions to the problems of the society.